“These students really loved connecting literacy with dance...It allows them to learn and use their brains in new ways that they may not be used to, but is exciting and fresh for them. Every time I pulled out a book, there was excitement on their faces, wondering ‘How are we going to connect dance to this book?’”

- Maria Blanco, CDE Teaching Artist

"The continuity and consistency of having an arts program that begins in preschool and follows the children through their elementary school experience is unique to the Danztheatre program... I have been teaching in CPS for 22 years, and I have never seen an 'outside provider' organization with such commitment and creativity toward the children and school community. Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s instructors and their developmentally appropriate curriculum would be a asset to any school."

- Elizabeth Russell, CPS Teacher

CDE’s arts education programming started in 2002 as an outreach program, created to teach the creative process to young people, drawing inspiration from daily school curriculum. Since then, the program has grown to teach a wide variety of arts learning techniques to thousands of students throughout the Chicagoland area, working to expose them to a wide spectrum of fine arts and foster their creative voices.
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Since 2001, CDE's arts education programming has:
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• Encompassed 56 programs
• Employed 103 teaching artists
• Had residencies in 23 schools
• Worked in 32 different neighborhoods

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Programs in Action